Keyboard Sonata in E minor, Wq. 89, no. 5, H.529
Classical Sonata Piano solo ~8 min
In brief

This E minor sonata has a crisp, ornamented character with sudden turns that call for clarity and a nervous energy rather than broad romanticism. You will specifically work on « Analyse harmonique (3.6/5) », which here means quickly identifying modulations and bass progressions to anticipate harmonic accents, and « Phrasé (2.5/5) », which requires shaping short, breathed phrases and articulating motifs to convey classical punctuation without exaggeration. In context, it belongs to the Classical period and is part of C. P. E. Bach's body of keyboard sonatas, reflecting his position between the galant style and empfindsam expressivity.

MusicCoach difficulty
56/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 44–68/100
Confidence : 30% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Relative difficulty
77%
Among Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
78%
Era Classical
41%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Style
Classical style
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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